• working on DNS.. links may break temporarily.

Ribs for Dummies question

J

Jim_MI

Found some matches.
Joined
Oct 8, 2020
Messages
13
Reaction score
13
Points
0
Age
69
Location
Charlevoix, MI
So I am getting a Weber 26" with SnS XL for my birthday next week. I was hoping to do St.Louis Ribs for just my wife and I next weekend (my first ever attempt, ever, on a charcoal or any other type of grill, ever, really, ever!) But then my sister called and said that she and her family wanted to come over to celebrate April birthdays. I said "Sure, I'll do ribs". Now I'm realizing how much I don't know about BBQ in general and this new grill in particular. But it's all family, so there is broad latitude for forgiveness.

1. First question: How much meat do I purchase? Is this bought by the pound or by the rack? We will have 2 hungry men & 6 light-eating women. Sides will include beans, coleslaw, maybe cornbread.

2. Will that much meat fit on the 26" grill when setup for slow cook with the SnS? I hope to avoid purchasing a vertical rack if possible.

Probably more questions to follow as I muddle through this.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk
 
1. First question: How much meat do I purchase? Is this bought by the pound or by the rack? We will have 2 hungry men & 6 light-eating women. Sides will include beans, coleslaw, maybe cornbread. You probably need 4 racks of ribs and they are purchased by the rack.

2. Will that much meat fit on the 26" grill when setup for slow cook with the SnS? I hope to avoid purchasing a vertical rack if possible. You will most likely need to purchase a vertical rack unless you do what I have dome with my 26 kettle. I purchased a 22" grill grate and attached 4 3" cap screws to it and with washers attached to the other end of the cap screws, I made legs for the grate that sits on top of the 26" grate. Nearly doubles your ccooking capacity on a 26" kettle. you can put 2 racks of each grate and they can all be on the opposite side of your heat source.
 
kynmo2010 said:
1. First question: How much meat do I purchase? Is this bought by the pound or by the rack? We will have 2 hungry men & 6 light-eating women. Sides will include beans, coleslaw, maybe cornbread. You probably need 4 racks of ribs and they are purchased by the rack.

2. Will that much meat fit on the 26" grill when setup for slow cook with the SnS? I hope to avoid purchasing a vertical rack if possible. You will most likely need to purchase a vertical rack unless you do what I have dome with my 26 kettle. I purchased a 22" grill grate and attached 4 3" cap screws to it and with washers attached to the other end of the cap screws, I made legs for the grate that sits on top of the 26" grate. Nearly doubles your ccooking capacity on a 26" kettle. you can put 2 racks of each grate and they can all be on the opposite side of your heat source.
Click to expand...


:thumb::thumb:
 
What he ^^^ said. I have done the same thing on my WSM and it works great. Meijer at least down here will be having BOGO 50% baby backs. Either way you go make sure they are similar in size to help with cooking evenness. I would do the 3-2-1 and give them a try tomorrow so you don't run into any unforeseen suprises.
 
The title deceived me. I thought someone was giving ribs away to dummies, so I clicked! Just joking...As stated above 4 racks should be plenty with the sides. My wife normally eats 2-3 bones worth, so 2 racks should feed the women and 2 for the boys. You will need to decide if you’re going to do spare ribs (whole or St Louis cut) or baby back. I don’t think 4 will fit unless you get a rib rack. Weber makes them and they are available at almost all the big box stores and they are fairly cheap. Let us know how it all turns out. Ribs are pretty forgiving.
 
Jim... congratulations to the wonderful world of Q and to this forum. I might suggest that you pick up a copy of "How to Grill for Beginners" https://www.amazon.com/How-Grill-Be...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= by our own MOOSE who moderates most of the throwdowns. I wish I would have had this starting out. great recipes .. good how to book .. plain simple instructions ... a lot of knowledge imparted
 
So far you have gotten excellent advice, and on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5 ribs are probably a 3 (moderate). BUT.... you have a brand new grill, have never cooked over charcoal, and never cooked ribs.

Barbecue may look easy when someone else cooks it. The recipes generally don't have a lot of ingredients. The cuts of meat are very common. Don't be fooled, there are a lot of hidden variables. There is a BIG difference between good barbecue and great barbecue. You will be very lucky if you make good barbecue on the first couple of cooks. It may take years before you make great barbecue. So before you serve barbecue to a house full of guests or the preachers wife...practice, practice, practice.

That said, I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest you play with your new grill a few times before the family shindig. And no disrespect intended...., I would skip the ribs and opt for some brats, burgers and maybe some boneless thicken thighs, or cubes of marinated pork loin cooked on skewers. You will have plenty of time to practice cook one rack of ribs at a time. Then later in the summer throw a rib party when you feel comfortable cooking ribs.
 
I just ordered a copy of Moose's book for myself. Knowing Moose from being on here, it should be a good resource to have, even though I am not a beginner.
 
thirdeye said:
So far you have gotten excellent advice, and on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5 ribs are probably a 3 (moderate). BUT.... you have a brand new grill, have never cooked over charcoal, and never cooked ribs.

Barbecue may look easy when someone else cooks it. The recipes generally don't have a lot of ingredients. The cuts of meat are very common. Don't be fooled, there are a lot of hidden variables. There is a BIG difference between good barbecue and great barbecue. You will be very lucky if you make good barbecue on the first couple of cooks. It may take years before you make great barbecue. So before you serve barbecue to a house full of guests or the preachers wife...practice, practice, practice.

That said, I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest you play with your new grill a few times before the family shindig. And no disrespect intended...., I would skip the ribs and opt for some brats, burgers and maybe some boneless thicken thighs, or cubes of marinated pork loin cooked on skewers. You will have plenty of time to practice cook one rack of ribs at a time. Then later in the summer throw a rib party when you feel comfortable cooking ribs.
Click to expand...

And if you don't follow this advice then make sure you have pizza delivery on speed dial. Family will understand.
 
Pretty sure I’m gonna have to side with thirdeye and th’ freak on this one...

There is simply noooooo reason to apply that kind of pressure to yerself. Not that ribs are hard, hell none of it is hard, but it’s a temp control and a time management thing, and the confidence only comes with time, and cooks under yer belt.

Not trying to pee on yer shoes, just don’t see the need for yer first cook to be memorable fer all the wrong reasons...
 
I also agree on the 3-2-1 method especially since this is your first time cooking ribs. It's really difficult to mess up ribs this way. With a little more experience you may choose not to wrap them at all. I no longer wrap ribs but the 3-2-1 is how I first learned to cook them. They'll be tasty. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Ag76 said:
I just ordered a copy of Moose's book for myself. Knowing Moose from being on here, it should be a good resource to have, even though I am not a beginner.
Click to expand...

Jay, lots of great recipes in there that I'm looking forward to trying this summer when I'm over my medical issues.
 
I'm siding with thirdeye as well...fark!!!
Everything is practice...and BBQ is meant ta be relaxing not perplexing...unless yer selling it.
-D
 
Jim_MI said:
So I am getting a Weber 26" with SnS XL for my birthday next week. I was hoping to do St.Louis Ribs for just my wife and I next weekend (my first ever attempt, ever, on a charcoal or any other type of grill, ever, really, ever!) But then my sister called and said that she and her family wanted to come over to celebrate April birthdays. I said "Sure, I'll do ribs". Now I'm realizing how much I don't know about BBQ in general and this new grill in particular. But it's all family, so there is broad latitude for forgiveness.

1. First question: How much meat do I purchase? Is this bought by the pound or by the rack? We will have 2 hungry men & 6 light-eating women. Sides will include beans, coleslaw, maybe cornbread.

2. Will that much meat fit on the 26" grill when setup for slow cook with the SnS? I hope to avoid purchasing a vertical rack if possible.

Probably more questions to follow as I muddle through this.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


1. Buy by the rack. 3 racks feeds my fam of 8 plus we have a rack and half left over.


2. If your questioning space get a rib rack it will definitely fit. I can fit 2 racks on my 22in kettle doing the snake method so I don't think 3 will be an issue but get the rack of your questioning space.
 
And skip 3-2-1 too much room for error especially if you don't like fall of the bone ribs.
 
frognot said:
Jay, lots of great recipes in there that I'm looking forward to trying this summer when I'm over my medical issues.
Click to expand...

Sounds good Charles. Looking forward to trying some of them myself.

In addition, glad to hear that you are on the mend and will be back to normal soon.
 
Just a follow-up: Against most advice to the contrary, I did the ribs. The tipping point was a PM from a pro who gave me his number and provided some one-on-one tutelage by phone - unbelievably kind!
The occasion was my Mom's 97th birthday, but like I said, all family so just the get-together was an achievement.
I ordered Moose's book but did not get it in time, so I borrowed Meathead Goldwyn's book "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling" from the library and basically just followed directions. I used his Memphis Dust rub and followed the Last Meal ribs recipe (no wrapping). Did 3 St. Louis racks in a vertical support, about 6 hrs with temps ranging from 225 - 260. I found an online recipe for smoked beans and did a pot of that beneath the grate. Cole slaw, potato wedges and cornbread rounded things out.
Most of you experienced guys would probably not be too proud of the result, but I was delighted. We all had a great meal together.
76fb003b0e06dbd0be9bf7bc40c837a0.jpg
4b7fc29da1b39171ffa915e205cf6d73.jpg
887447aa34e68a4bbc2ee4d64677c203.jpg


Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk
 
If you are not going to add another grate or get a rib rack, you can roll the ribs into pinwheels and tie with butcher's twine or secure with skewers. Then, you put them on the cooker bones down so they stand up vertically. This way your ribs will take up less room on the grate. When they are done you just cut the twine and unroll them and cut up the ribs. Not ideal, but it works. I've put eight racks on a WSM this way before.
 
Jim_MI said:
Just a follow-up: Against most advice to the contrary, I did the ribs. The tipping point was a PM from a pro who gave me his number and provided some one-on-one tutelage by phone - unbelievably kind!
The occasion was my Mom's 97th birthday, but like I said, all family so just the get-together was an achievement.
I ordered Moose's book but did not get it in time, so I borrowed Meathead Goldwyn's book "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling" from the library and basically just followed directions. I used his Memphis Dust rub and followed the Last Meal ribs recipe (no wrapping). Did 3 St. Louis racks in a vertical support, about 6 hrs with temps ranging from 225 - 260. I found an online recipe for smoked beans and did a pot of that beneath the grate. Cole slaw, potato wedges and cornbread rounded things out.
Most of you experienced guys would probably not be too proud of the result, but I was delighted. We all had a great meal together.
76fb003b0e06dbd0be9bf7bc40c837a0.jpg
4b7fc29da1b39171ffa915e205cf6d73.jpg
887447aa34e68a4bbc2ee4d64677c203.jpg


Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

As long as you and your family enjoyed them that's all that matters. They look good and i'm going to have to try those beans they look good also!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

SweetHeatBBQnSC
Ribs for college football
Replies
6
Views
546
kevinstaggs
kevinstaggs
bowhnter
Some Tuesday afternoon ribs
Replies
13
Views
491
cowgirl
cowgirl
S
outdoor kitchens
Replies
15
Views
667
Headgear
Headgear
B
School night ribs
Replies
16
Views
750
LYU370
LYU370
W
Wanting a new Pellet Grill
Replies
19
Views
844
Bury Me In Smoke
B
Back
Top